Bread & Butter: San Anselmo's the place to be for fresh eats

Christopher Douglas, familiar to Marinites for his work at Kitchen Novato and Cowgirl Cantina in Point Reyes, brings his signature ingredient-driven California cuisine to his own spot, Ross Valley Kitchen.
Photo by Michele Douglas

SAN ANSELMO is the place to be for fresh eats this week as two new restaurants are open and cooking.

First up is Ross Valley Kitchen, which swung into the Red Hill Shopping Center a month ago. Chef-owner Christopher Douglas, familiar to Marinites for his work at Kitchen Novato and Cowgirl Cantina in Point Reyes, brings his signature ingredient-driven California cuisine to his own spot.

Open for the breakfast and lunch crowd, Ross Valley Kitchen features a market counter, or a slate of specials driven by what is in the market, and changes daily. Recent specials include grilled Acme levain with cannellini bean puree, chicories, skirt steak and a poached egg ($10), potato leek soup ($4.95, $6.95) and Asian noodle salad with broccoli, bean sprouts and a sesame vinaigrette ($8.95). Vegan and gluten-free items are noted on each day's menu.

Duilio Valenti realized a dream last week when the doors opened at Valenti's on San Anselmo Avenue. Chef and owner Valenti, a partner and chef at Mill Valley's Frantoio for 18 years, built a Northern Italian menu that favors his roots in Lombardy. The opening menu features steamed asparagus with a poached egg and brown butter ($11) — yes, they use butter in the north — wine-cured bresaola with flash-roasted radicchio and lemon emulsion ($11) and costoletta Milanese ($36), prepared in the style of Milan's Porta Vittoria neighborhood, where Valenti grew up. It's open for dinner only.

Valenti & Co. is at 337 San Anselmo Ave., San Anselmo. Call 454-7800 or go to www.valentico.com.

For chocolate lovers

The world of artisan chocolates has exploded and the differences from one chocolate bar to the next are now too numerous to count. You may prefer dark chocolate, but do you know if 72 percent cacao content is too high for your taste? What about mouth feel; do you prefer silky, quick melting or gritty? And is it time to give milk chocolate another chance?

In a Chocolate Meditation from 1 to 3 p.m. May 17 at Cavallo Point Lodge, chocolate lovers will learn how chocolate travels to us from the equator, then taste six different chocolates using all five senses — sight, touch, sound, smell and taste. You will leave class with a new understanding of what chocolate is and what characteristics your senses enjoy most from a chocolate bar.

Known for her work on ABC-TV's "View from the Bay," Chocolate lover and chef Karletta Moniz is your guide. Her fascination with all things cacao led her to create the "Art of Tasting Chocolate" class.

With bounty in bloom and 2013 Rosebud Rosé in bottles, McEvoy Ranch invites guests to toast to the season and enjoy the first pours of its 2013 Rosebud Rosé and upcoming 2014 limited edition olive oil at Petaluma's McEvoy Ranch "Wine + Boots Release Party" from 12 to 4 p.m. May 24.

There will be live music, of course, plus delicious bites featuring Thistle Meats and Toluma Farms, bocce, raffles and more. McEvoy Ranch is one of the largest producers of estate-grown, certified organic extra virgin olive oil, but this is the first release of a wine from the ranch. Production is miniscule and only available in California. Be sure to wear your kickers.

The event costs $45, $20 for wine club members. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to www.mcevoy ranch.com/tours-and-workshops/wine-boots-general.html.